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Coming off a bye week, the BYU Cougars are gearing up to play their last home game of the season against the Idaho Vandals Saturday.
This game could be an emotional one as it marks Bronco Mendenhall’s 100th game as head coach and it's the last home game for BYU's 24 seniors, who will be honored before kick off.
While many fans are expecting this game to be an emotional one and an easy win for the Cougars, the team is not taking it lightly and knows what it needs to improve on.
Idaho has had a rough season this year, only winning one game (against future BYU opponent New Mexico State). Last week the Vandals lost to another future BYU opponent, San Jose State, 42-13.
Before that San Jose State contest, Idaho fired head coach Robb Akey, who was replaced by interim head coach Jason Gesser. Gesser is also the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall acknowledged that Idaho has had a tough season so far, but said the school has showed signs of promise.
“Idaho is a team that has struggled with consistency, both on offense and defense,” Mendenhall said. “In stretches they show capability, and then they have had issues turning over the football and maintaining a high level of execution from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. I think that's been their biggest challenge”
This will be the fifth meeting between the teams with the series tied 2-2. The Vandals traveled to Provo last year and lost 42-7.
Offense
Senior quarterback Logan Bushnell will lead the Vandal’s offense in his third start of the season. Bushnell became the starter after quarterback Dominique Blackman was dismissed from the football team last week.
In Bushnell’s short season, he has completed 28 of 59 for 374 yards and one touchdown. Against San Jose State he completed 14 of 29 for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Senior running back Ryan Bass leads the rushing game. Bass has rushed for 339 yards this season and is the leading rusher on the team.
Last week Bass was not the leading rusher, however, and only had 15 yards. The leading rusher was Justin Parkins, who rushed for 43 yards.
Senior wide receiver Mike Scott helps propel Idaho’s offense with 479 receiving yards and one touchdown. Last week, Scott had 79 yards.
Defense
Even though this team may be the worst BYU has faced, the Vandals' defense performs well in areas that BYU sometimes struggles — such as interceptions, fumbles and quarterback sacks.
Senior safety Homer Mauga is a star on this defense who creates plays when they are needed. Mauga has had 56 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one quarterback sack this season.
The leading tackler for the Vandals is Gary Walker with 76 tackles. Walker has also caused one interception and one forced fumble.
As with many teams BYU has faced this year, there is always a player who excels at sacking the quarterback — it's someone Riley Nelson should be aware of at all times. That guy this week is Quinton Bradley, who has four quarterback sacks and four quarterback hurries. He is also credited with 22 tackles.
BYU running back Jamaal Williams expects the Vandals' defense to play hard and still provide a challenge for the Cougars.
“I am expecting them to come out hard and play with everything they got,” Williams said. “They play every game as physical as they can and they have a decent defense. It’s going to be a good test for us.”
While this should still be an easy win for the Cougars, it will be a good chance for them to improve and try to execute one of their best games of football this season.
Nelson acknowledged this will be an easier game but knows it will still be a fight and expects Idaho to be a tough opponent.
“I can tell they play hard,” Nelson said. “I know how hard it is to fight for four quarters but they play tough. They are not going to come in here and lay down.”
Ashley Anderson is a senior at BYU majoring in public relations with the hope of one day having a career in sports public relations.
